Average Customer Review: 
| Required reading for aspiring C experts | |
A short aside on the author - Peter van der Linden is probably one of the better technical writers out there. Both this book and "Just Java" are a pleasure to read. He's also a good public speaker, if you get a chance to see him in the valley.Where this book stands out is its lucid explanations of "under the hood" material. What really happens when your program is loaded in? Why aren't pointers and arrays the same? (Bet you thought they were.) This book explains it all. The section on interview questions is required reading for interviewers and interviewees alike. In short, a great book. My dog-eared copy has been handed around the office so many times that I had to take it back and force everyone else to get their own copy (which they quickly did). Only one minor gripe - there are a number of typos in the printing I have. Peter is VERY good about posting errata on his website however, so I can't let this detract from my 5 star rating.
| Fun to read and extremely helpful | |
The title of this message says it all. This is my 2nd time around reading this book. I bought it about 1 year ago and I'm reading it again just for fun really... The author keeps the book humorous throughout and you'll definitely know you're a geek when you find yourself snickering at all of the hilarious comments in the book. These comments are "fun filler" like other books use. It's strange how other books will just throw in silly comic headers at the beginning of each chapter or take time away from learning to say something stupid to try and get a laugh. Peter actually has comments that are hilarious, but will help you learn at the same time. Everything is extremely informative. My favorite chapters include:Chapter 3: Unscrambling Declarations in C
Chapter 4: The Shocking Truth: C Arrays and Pointers are NOT the Same!
Chapter 5: Thinking of Linking
Chapter 7: Thanks for the Memory
Chapter 9: More about Arrays
Chapter 10: More about Pointers
Appendix: Secrets of Programmer Job Interviews Yes, even the Appendix was excellent. This book will really help a novice C programmer gain a very FIRM grasp of pointers and C declarations that scared ... us when we first saw C. Find a good book on Algorithms ( Data Structures and Algorithm Analysis in C ) and you're definitely an expert in C!
This book is a must have for anyone interested in learning more about C programming. It's funny, and it really makes it enjoyable to learn the more advanced aspects of the language. Thanks Mr. Van Der Linden for this wonderfull book!!
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